Good day. Here are the stories of The Manila Times for Thursday, April 24, 2025.

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READ: P20 rice program begins next week

A campaign promise once met with skepticism will weigh exactly 1 kilo and cost just 20 pesos — starting next week in the Visayas. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is moving ahead with the pilot rollout of his "20 pesos per kilo" rice program beginning May 1, making subsidized rice available through local government units (LGUs). Marcos met with 12 governors from Regions 6 (Western Visayas), 7 (Central Visayas) and 8 (Eastern Visayas) at the Cebu Provincial Capitol on Wednesday to finalize the implementation of the "20 Pesos Program." The initiative will allow families to buy rice at 20 pesos per kilo through their LGUs. The President held a closed-door meeting that ended shortly after 1 p.m. and was joined by Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. and Special Assistant to the President Antonio Lagdameo Jr.

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READ: Duterte, VP Sara disagree on bets

Former president Rodrigo Duterte has endorsed two former military men for the Senate race alongside his "Dutert-10" candidates, in contrast to his daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte, who backed Sen. Imee Marcos and Rep. Camille Villar. Davao City Rep. Paolo Duterte, who visited his father at Scheveningen Prison where he is detained pending trial for crimes against humanity, said the former president endorsed former senator Gregorio Honasan and retired Marine colonel Ariel Querubin as his last two candidates for the Senate alongside his "Dutert-10" candidates.

READ: President, first lady to attend pope's funeral

PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and first lady Liza Araneta-Marcos will attend the funeral of Pope Francis, Malacañang confirmed on Wednesday. Details of their departure for Rome have yet to be released. The Vatican had previously set the pontiff's burial for April 26, Saturday, at 10 a.m. in St. Peter's Square. It was also where he made his last public appearance through an Easter Sunday blessing and a popemobile tour. Numerous world leaders have announced they will travel to Rome for Pope Francis' funeral on Saturday, which is expected to draw a huge crowd in the square in front of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican.

READ: Intl HR team to monitor May elections

THE International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP) has sent an International Observer Mission (IOM) to monitor the May 2025 elections amid rising concerns over poll violence. The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has recorded 46 incidents of political violence between January 12 and April 11, the ICHRP said. Based on the monitoring of IOM's local partner Vote Report PH, "red-tagging is still the highest among violation categories, amounting to 78.72 percent of 733 reports as of April 11."

READ: Annual TMT forum on MSMEs, start-ups opens

THE Manila Times will hold its annual micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and Start-ups forum today at the Discovery Suites, Ortigas. Themed "Forging transformative businesses from innovative enterprises," the forum will open discussions and conversations on modern business practices, relevant market trends and innovative solutions to common business challenges. The keynote speeches will be delivered by Trade and Industry Undersecretary Blesila Lantayona, and DBDOYC Inc. (ride-hailing app Angkas) CEO George Royeca.

BUSINESS: PH now seen growing at just 5.0%

Topping business, escalating trade tensions and a deepening global slowdown could weigh heavily on emerging Asia's growth prospects, ANZ Research said as it sharply downgraded growth forecasts for the region and its economies, including the Philippines. In its latest Asia Insight report, ANZ lowered its 2025 and 2026 gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecasts for emerging Asia, excluding China and India, to 2.9 percent and 3.3 percent, respectively, from 3.4 percent and 3.5 percent.

SPORTS: Tour of Luzon kicks off in Paoay

Over to sports, for the first time since 2002, the fabled "Tour of Luzon" hits the road as 119 cyclists representing 17 teams begin competing in the eight-stage race traversing seven Northern and Central Luzon provinces today. Serving as the starting stage of the 1,074.90-kilometer (km) competition, which carries "The Great Revival" theme, is the Paoay-Paoay stage which covers a distance of 190.70 km. Next is the 68.39-km Paoay-Vigan team time trial Stage 2 on April 25, 130.33-km Vigan-San Juan Stage 3 on April 26, 162.97-km Agoo-Clark Stage 4 on April 27, 166.65 Clark-Clark (via New Clark City) Stage 5 on April 28, 168.19 Clark-Lingayen Stage 6 on April 29 and 15.14-km individual time trial Labrador-Lingayen Stage 7 on April 30. The eighth and final stage is the 172.53-km distance race from Lingayen to Scout Hill inside Camp John Hay in Baguio City on May 1. The opening ceremony was being held in front of world heritage site Paoay Church at press time on Wednesday.

READ: Opinion and editorial

Antonio Contreras, Yen Makabenta, and Danton Remoto are today's front page columnists. Contreras talks about regulating election surveys, Makabenta discusses the roles of the president, while Remoto gives his input on combating hunger.

Today's editorial says Donald Trump's economic policies are putting remittances at risk. Read more on the paper's opinion section or listen to the Voice of the Times.

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